For honest and ethical appraisals, count on Area Wide Appraisal Services

Appraising is typically a long term career. The rigors of becoming a licensed appraiser have become more difficult than ever in the past. So it goes without question these days that real estate appraisal can unquestionably be considered a profession rather than a trade. As with any profession we are bound by ethical considerations.

We have many responsibilities as appraisers but our main duty is to our clients. Typically, for a standard residential appraisal, the appraiser's client is the lender ordering the appraisal. Certain matters pertaining to an assignment can only be discussed with an appraiser's client. As a a homeowner, if you would like a copy of the appraisal document, you should get it from your lender. Other responsibilities also include, numerical accuracy depending on the assignment's nature, attaining and sustaining a certain level of competency and education, and of course, the appraiser must behave in a professional manner. Here at Area Wide Appraisal Services, we take these ethical responsibilities very to heart.

Appraisers can also have fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, such as homeowners, sellers and buyers, or others. Generally the third parties are specifically defined in the appraisal report. An appraiser's fiduciary roll is only to those parties who the appraiser is aware of, based on the scope of work or other written parameters of the order.

Appraisers also have standards outside of boundaries of with whom we share information For example, appraisers must be able to produce their work files for at least five years - at Area Wide Appraisal Services you can rest assured that we adhere to that rule.

We meet or beat the industry standards and guidelines set in place for professional behavior. We can't accept anything less from ourselves. Doing orders on contingency fees is not something we can consider That is, we are not able to agree to do an appraisal report and collect payment on the contingency of the loan closing. We don't do assignments on percentage fees. That is perhaps the appraisal industries most important rule, because it would invite fraudulent practices since increasing the value of the home would up the fee. We set ourselves to a higher standard. Other unprofessional practices may be established by state law or professional societies to which an appraiser belongs.

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) also defines unethical behavior as the acceptance of an assignment that is contingent on "the reporting of a pre-determined result (e.g., opinion of value)," "a direction in assignment results that favors the cause of the client," "the amount of a value opinion," as well as other situations. We follow these rules to the letter which means you can rest easy knowing we are working hard to provide an unbiased determination of the home or property value.

With Area Wide Appraisal Services, you can be assured of 100 percent ethical, honest service.